Book Review: Balasaraswati - Her Art and Life

A question I was regularly asked at one time was:”So, you are a Tamilian. You must have learnt classical music and Bharatanatyam, right?” It was a question which always succeeded in irritating me, for I had nothing to do with either music or dance, despite being a Tamilian. Yes, my mom had, true to tradition, tried to get me interested in music. I had endured the classes for a year, and soon after, telling my mom that the classes intruded into my reading time, had refused to go anymore. She would have loved to send me to Bharatanatyam classes, but that was something I had no interest in even trying! Having two left feet, I stayed away from dance of all kinds, and she soon gave up, leaving me to my literary pursuits.  Living in a place where there were hardly any cultural events, and even fewer related to our South Indian background, I grew up blissfully ignorant of Carnatic music and Bharatanatyam. Then, I got married and shifted to a predominantly South Indian neighbourhood – one which could actually be called a miniature Madras, complete with temple and all! Here were more people surprised that I wasn’t remotely interested in the classical arts, except as a spectator, all the more so since my sister-in-law herself was an accomplished Bharatanatyam dancer! Years passed and I began enjoying Bharatanatyam performances, now that I was actually attending more of them, and besides, my sister joined the dancing brigade too. However, I still maintained my distance, being just remotely interested in the performance and the talent of the dancers. All that changed when my sister-in-law asked me for help in translating some documents for her Masters degree in the dance, and I discovered what a wealth of history and literature was available behind the ancient dance form. I began reading my sister-in-law’s books, eager to learn more about those who had shaped the dance and brought it to the form in which it is known today.

Among the many dancers I read about, one name stood out – Balasaraswati. She was said to be the first to perform the dance outside south India, but I was intrigued even more when I read an article which mentioned that she often sang as she danced! And then, a couple of weeks back, I saw that the book ‘Balasaraswati – Her Art and Life’ was up for review on Blogadda. I had been a part of the Blogadda Book Review programme for quite a while, but I had yet to receive a book for reviewing, so it was with some indifference that I applied for this one, thinking that I had nothing to lose. Besides, I was leaving for Samhith’s thread ceremony, and didn’t really have time to do a review!  Imagine my surprise when I got a mail from them, saying that I had been among the lucky ones chosen!! For a while, I wondered if I should refuse, since I hardly had time to read such a book and review it in the short time I had, but then the temptation proved too strong, and I agreed! So here at last (though a bit belated) is the review of ‘Balasaraswati – Her Art and Life’, by Douglas M. Knight, Jr.

Guest Post - Kutch Diaries Part 2

In this, his second guest post, Niranjan continues his reminiscences of his Kutch trip, with a more detailed report of the fifth day spent on the Rann of Kutch. To read his earlier post, click here.

We started from Zainabad to Moti Virani, Kutch district on the morning of the fourth day of our trip – 28^th December. We reached our destination by evening and had ample time to cool our heels and take some rest before embarking on another adventure into the wild. We were greeted with a terrific lunch. Whoever says that Gujarati food is sweet, should try out Kutchi food. It is very spicy and reminds of Andhra J

Guest Post - Kutch Diaries Part 1

This is a guest post, written by my cousin, Niranjan Chandrashekar. Niranjan is based in Delhi, and loves to travel and explore. His latest passion is for photography, a hobby which began with a brand new DSLR, but is soon becoming an obsession, as we keep telling him!!!! After much persuasion, he agreed to write a guest post for me. My family has always loved travelling, but I am the only one who has been documenting my travels so far. As I keep telling my uncles and cousins, they travel to a lot more interesting places than I do, so it is high time they began writing about it too! With Niranjan's foray into writing, I hope the others too begin supplying me with guest posts :D

He was recently part of a trip to Kutch, organized by Darter Photography Pvt. Ltd. in the last week of December, 2011 (from Dec 24, 2011 to Jan 1st, 2012). This is the first in a series of posts describing his experiences during the trip. This post is about the first half of the trip, where they explored the Little Rann of Kutch (LRK).

“The tour of Kutch” is where I discovered what photography is all about. Photography is not only about capturing landscapes, birds, animals... It is about capturing the moment as you see it, as you imagine it.

Celebrating Pongal with books

Any festival is a reason to celebrate, and Pongal happens to be one of the important ones. Here is the kolam welcoming you to our home....

5 Things To Do in Udaipur

Udaipur is the lake city of Rajasthan.  Most of the state might be a desert, but Udaipur, with its five huge interconnected lakes is blessed with not just a perennial water supply, but the lakes also keep the city and its environment cool, even in the sweltering heat of summer! The city draws not just crowds of tourists coming from across the world for a glimpse of its magnificent palaces, but also droves of migratory birds drawn by the lakes! The city is thus an interesting blend of history and nature, well worth a leisurely visit. 

To read the full article, click here. 

This article was published on the Club Mahindra Blog. To read my other articles on the blog, click here.